Chapter 987: I Am the King of Singers, But...? (23)

There was a saying in NewBlack.

-If your body is good enough, your brain doesn’t need to suffer.

In simple terms, if your physical specs were overwhelming enough, there was no need to come up with elaborate strategies.

All the tactics I had used up until now suddenly felt meaningless as Ri Hyuk’s vocals swept everything away.

[He’s good! He’s so good!]

Watching Ri Hyuk perform from beneath the stage, I could only marvel.

Every time he blasted through the chorus’s high notes, it felt like sound waves were slamming directly into me head-on.

But it felt good.

Like standing ankle-deep at the beach in summer while waves rushed over your feet with a roaring crash.

“Wow....”

Nearby, the production staff monitoring the stage from the folding tables — including Producer Park Yeonhee from Mission Singer — clicked their tongues in admiration.

“Ri Hyuk is seriously unbelievable.”

“To sing that song like that....”

“The atmosphere totally feels like a concert hall.”

Maybe because he had chosen an uplifting, emotional song for the finale, the audience was beaming as they clapped along.

The exhaustion from the eight-hour recording session seemed to melt right off their faces.

Even the audience members who had looked sleepy toward the end of filming earlier were now wide awake, eyes shining as they smiled.

[That was a good song choice. As expected of King Wooju....]

I felt both touched and impressed that he had chosen an energetic song for the tired audience.

“Ri Hyuk must’ve had a hard time picking a song.”

As one of the writers had said, this week’s theme was especially disadvantageous for Ri Hyuk.

-Youth.

How awkward must it have been to ask a twenty-two-year-old singer to sing about youth?

Especially when most songs powerful enough to leave an impact were written by people who had already passed through their youth.

Even I had barely managed by drawing on every experience I had accumulated, so how much harder must it have been for Ri Hyuk, who was still in his early twenties?

Of course, technically speaking, he could sing anything well.

But Ri Hyuk had a fundamental philosophy when it came to singing.

-I don’t sing things I don’t understand.

Wasn’t that why, back in 2014 when he sang Night Sea, he said he didn’t know what emotions he was supposed to grasp?

[Time really....]

Time really had passed.

Ri Hyuk, who had still been a high school student back then, was now an adult, and he sang now with emotions far richer than before.

But even so, his fundamental philosophy had never changed.

He only sang what he truly understood.

Which meant....

[Hmm....]

Even now, there was probably something he was recalling as he sang.

I didn’t know what it was, but hearing Ri Hyuk sing Today, We today naturally brought a smile to my face.

The colors felt especially beautiful today.

When he drew the keyword “Youth,” Seo Ri Hyuk hadn’t outwardly shown it, but he had been flustered.

-Youth...?

To him, it was a difficult keyword.

The dictionary definition of youth was as follows.

Youth.

Originally referring to spring, when green sprouts emerge, the term describes the young years of life spanning from the late teens into one’s twenties, or that very period itself.

Even after reading the definition, it was difficult to understand what youth really was.

No.

He felt it was only natural that he couldn’t understand it.

Because he himself was standing right in the middle of youth.

Having devoured countless essays and novels, Ri Hyuk eventually came to a conclusion about youth.

‘Youth is kind of like a train.’

While you’re riding it, you can’t really tell what the train itself looks like.

All you can see are the passing landscapes outside the window.

Only after getting off do you finally think, ‘Ah, so this is what the train looked like.’

That was why songs that tried to define youth outright didn’t suit him.

Because he didn’t know.

So the song he chose was Today, We, a song filled with the spirited determination of youth.

Today of all days

I feel like I can do anything

Look at the blue sky

Stretching out before me

Seo Ri Hyuk only sang what he knew for {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} certain.

That he himself was currently standing in the very middle of youth.

Beneath the breaking sunlight

The shining people

That’s who we are

And that beside him stood beautiful, shining people.

And also—

That he received good energy from them, that he was spending wonderful days with them, and that he wanted to continue spending wonderful days with them in the future.

So then

Come and take my hand

As handsome and adorable faces drifted through his mind one after another, Seo Ri Hyuk poured even more strength into his voice.

The highlight section.

Meeting the eyes of the audience clapping along for him, he smiled.

Because beside you

I’ll always be there

Today, his condition was at its peak.

[Yes!]

[That concludes King Sun Wooju’s defense stage!]

Applause and cheers exploded as King Sun Wooju gave the audience a small bow.

Another wave of screaming erupted.

“Ri Hyuk!!”

“That seriously was youth....”

“Ah, I wish they’d release this as an official track.”

While the audience was still immersed in those thoughts, someone climbed onto the backstage platform.

It was the hyperactive Crane Mask fluttering in.

[You haven’t forgotten about me, right? Kyahahaha...!]

The audience burst into laughter.

They had completely forgotten about him while being mesmerized by Seo Ri Hyuk’s stage, but his presence was genuinely insane.

For some reason, Sunflower Mask gave off the impression of looking at him like he was pathetic while Crane shot little love arrows at him.

[Now then.......]

As the hosts began speaking, groans erupted from the audience.

“Ahhhhh...!”

“Ahhh!”

Because that meant they now had to choose between the two.

The hosts spoke in amused voices.

[Unfortunately, one of them will be eliminated today.]

“AAAAAAAH-!”

Even the celebrity panelists groaned along.

“Seriously, shouldn’t this be at least a three-round match?”

“Let’s make it fifty-fifty and go into overtime just once more. I really want to see these two face off again.”

“Ah, how are we supposed to choose?!”

Even the idol guests nodded vigorously in agreement.

Then the hosts shouted.

[Now then... it is time to vote!]

The audience immediately started clutching their foreheads.

‘Who am I supposed to pick?’

‘Seriously, how do you even choose this??’

Wooju’s strategy had worked perfectly.

“Isn’t this honestly just a matter of preference?”

“It totally is.”

Objectively speaking, if asked who sang better, the answer was obviously Seo Ri Hyuk.

It was hard to say by exactly how much, but if someone demanded a clear winner, Ri Hyuk had sung better.

But....

The moment they tried to vote for Ri Hyuk, Crane Mask started flashing through their minds again.

-The four-part performance series of spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

A singer who had made four different songs feel entirely like his own through godlike arrangement skills.

Though slightly behind Seo Ri Hyuk, he still possessed king-level physical vocals that overwhelmed everyone else today.

And then there was the narrative he had built across all his songs.

‘Maybe it really is Wooju?’

‘But Ri Hyuk’s song was amazing too.’

‘Ri Hyuk’s performance was seriously incredible though.......’

Audience participation rules prevented singalongs, but Seo Ri Hyuk’s final stage had been one everyone desperately wanted to sing together with.

“Mm.......”

“Gghhhhh....”

Even comparing the stages directly felt difficult.

-Wild vocals that broke free from convention vs textbook-perfect vocals

It was hard to say one singing style was superior.

One felt like a poet softly reciting beautiful verses, while the other resembled a craftsman delicately shaping flawless jewels.

And then—

-A song bidding farewell to youth vs a song singing of youthful friendship and love

That too came down entirely to preference.

‘This is impossible!’

‘This is harder than choosing a late-night snack menu.’

It felt like one of those “pork for life vs beef for life” balance games.

If you chose beef, you could never eat pork belly again.

If you chose pork, then any food made with beef broth would disappear from your life forever.

If you chose Wooju, Ri Hyuk would be eliminated.

If you chose Ri Hyuk, Wooju would fall.

“Ah....”

After agonizing over it for what felt like forever, the audience finally reached their decisions.

[Have you made your choices?]

As weak cries of “Yeees...” echoed throughout the audience, the hosts spoke again.

[Before the voting begins, the production team has one announcement to make. That is....]

Everyone perked up their ears.

[Please vote carefully, as the names may be confusing.]

“!”

“!!”

Only then did the audience members hovering over button 1 or 2 snap back to reality.

‘Ah! King Sun Wooju wasn’t actually Wooju.’

‘Ri Hyuk wasn’t really Ri Hyuk either!’

Laughter broke out everywhere.

[Excuse me....]

National Hip-Hop Top Seo Ri Hyuk raised his hand and proposed something to the staff.

Seeing the audience’s curiosity, the hosts relayed the message.

[To avoid confusion during voting, we’ll hear one short line from each contestant. About three seconds each. First, contestant number one.]

National Hip-Hop Top Seo Ri Hyuk and King Sun Wooju lightly sang one line each from the introductions of the songs they had performed.

Only then did people finally make up their minds.

[Now then! Number one or number two!]

[Please cast your votes~!]

At the lively announcement, people firmly pressed their buttons.

Even the Souffles who had been swallowing tears because they couldn’t decide until the very end finally finished voting.

[The voting has ended.]

Everyone’s hearts pounded wildly.

Couples rubbing their hands together nervously. Middle-aged men clutching their chests. Souffles squeezing their fists tight.

[One of these two must now leave Mission Singer today.]

“Uwaaaaaah!”

“Stop! Just stop right here-!”

[Then let us reveal the results.]

[The person who will become the 44th King is.......]

Dududududu.

The tense BGM thundered as lights spun wildly around the stage.

‘Ah... I can’t watch.’

‘Damn it.’

‘Ughhhhh!’

Several audience members turned their heads away slightly, peeking at the screen through narrowed eyes.

Boom!

The scores appeared on the screen.

[National Hip-Hop Top Seo Ri Hyuk 46]

[King Sun Wooju 54]

A roaring explosion of cheers filled the hall as the spotlight poured down onto King Sun Wooju.

[Yes! Following his reign as the 43rd King, King Sun Wooju has now become the 44th King as well!]

[An eight-vote difference! What a dramatic victory!]

It was such a razor-thin margin that if only four audience members had changed their minds, it would have ended in a 50-50 tie.

While King Sun Wooju danced brightly beneath the spotlight—

“Huh?”

People’s eyes shifted toward the Crane Mask standing beside him.

Toward the real Wooju.

“What’s Wooju doing?”

“Huh?”

National Hip-Hop Top Seo Ri Hyuk reached toward his neck and began fumbling with something.

[At this very moment, National Hip-Hop Top Seo Ri Hyuk appears to be taking something off his neck?]

[Ah! It’s a gold necklace!]

Jingle jingle.

[Looking closer, they’re old coin charms!]

People burst out laughing at the necklace made of gold yeopjeon coins.

The crane dressed in scholar’s robes removed the coin necklace and walked over to place it around King Sun Wooju’s neck.

It looked like the coronation ceremony of a newly crowned king.

[Ah! It seems he’s saying, “You are now the true National Hip-Hop Top!”]

[Wow! It actually says ‘National Hip-Hop Top’ on the coin necklace!]

[After becoming King King King, he’s now also National Hip-Hop Top! A four-crown winner!]

Inside the Sunflower Mask, Seo Ri Hyuk burst into laughter at the sight of his eldest brother placing the gold necklace around him.

The audience erupted into cheers.

“National Hip-Hop Top Sun Wooju...!”

“Sun Wooju!”

“Sun Wooju! Sun Wooju!”

At the sound of those cheers, Seo Ri Hyuk suddenly stopped laughing.

A strange feeling hit him.

The crane cackled as he slyly slipped away to the side.

‘Was even this part of the grand plan?!’

For some reason, he suddenly suspected Wooju had intended from the start to attach both the King title and the National Hip-Hop Top title to his own name.

Then the hosts spoke.

[Before we proceed with the coronation ceremony for the 44th King, today’s eliminated contestant...]

“AAAAAAAHHHHH!”

“Don’t do this! I’m sad!”

[We will now reveal the identity of today’s eliminated contestant, ‘National Hip-Hop Top Seo Ri Hyuk,’ and take some time to hear his thoughts.]

At those words, National Hip-Hop Top Seo Ri Hyuk turned around.

As exciting background music played, he gracefully lifted his hands to remove the mask.

‘Wow, even the back of his head is handsome.’

The mask had pressed down and slightly messed up his hair, but even so, the texture of it looked beautiful.

A small head.

As he lightly shook his hair like a mermaid emerging from water, droplets of sweat scattered through the air.

[Today’s winner, and the eliminated contestant from the King Match, is....]

He turned his head.

His face gleamed brilliantly beneath the lights.

[...Wooju, the leader of national idol group NewBlack!]

At that exact moment—

“Gasp!”

Even people who had already known it was Wooju gasped aloud.

Sweat-dampened, ethereal beauty.

Even the Souffles who had been wailing in despair moments ago because one of the two had to be eliminated abruptly stopped crying with stunned expressions.

‘Holy shit.......’

‘Was choosing Ri Hyuk actually the correct choice after all?!’

‘Wow....’

His flushed cheeks were faintly red.

His bangs were damp and disheveled with sweat, and tiny beads of perspiration dotted him here and there, but somehow that only made him look heavenly.

People seeing NewBlack’s leader up close for the first time in their lives froze in place.

‘Can a human being really be this handsome?’

‘Wow.......’

As they unconsciously craned their necks just to stare at his face, Wooju wiped away a line of sweat and greeted the audience through the microphone.

[Hello, everyone! I’m Wooju from NewBlack!]

“WAAAAAAAAAH!”

“Woojuuuuu!”

[Yes... and I lost today. Haha.]

“NOOOOOOOO!”

Before the wailing audience, Wooju calmly shared his thoughts.

[Yes, I think today was truly a wonderful experience. I competed against incredible seniors, and although I sadly lost against my alter ego, King Sun Wooju, I think I really had an amazing time.]

After expressing his thanks, Wooju talked about why he had appeared on Mission Singer.

[The concept of singing while hiding your identity looked really fun. It reminded me of the old Masterpiece Choir days, so I wanted to try appearing at least once. And I also thought it had a different charm compared to singing group songs.]

Then Wooju winked.

[Of course, the biggest reason was that I wanted to compete against our King Sun Wooju.]

The audience smiled warmly, like neighbors watching a lovable local kid.

As he continued his speech, Wooju said:

[And not just me — there are actually a lot of idols with truly outstanding vocals as well.......]

At his comment saying he hoped people would pay more attention to singers like them too, the idol guests began tearing up.

‘No, sunbae. Hardly anyone sings at your level....’

‘After you two raised expectations this high, what idol is supposed to come on next....’

Of course, those thoughts remained trapped inside their heads.

While the idol guests gave standing ovations to the highest authority in the idol industry like broken toy monkeys, Wooju suddenly grinned mischievously mid-speech.

[Ahh~ it’s really such a shame. Since I even had the title National Hip-Hop Top, I actually prepared a lot of really good hip-hop songs too.......]

It was an utterly shameless expression.

[But now I guess I can’t show them to you anymore.]

“Then just!!! Show us!!!”

Someone shouted in a voice that sounded exactly like Doraemon, making the audience burst into laughter.

As nearby audience members turned to look at the flushed Souffle in the front row and laughed—

[Hmm... it feels a little disappointing to just leave like this, so should I sing one more light song before I go?]

“Yes!”

“Pleaaase!”

[But I can’t exactly sing just any random song for you, right?]

With every expression and gesture, Wooju expertly pushed and pulled the audience’s emotions before casually asking:

[How about I sing a special song that can only be heard here today? Of course, if you all still have the time....]

“Yes!”

“We’d love that!!”

[Then.......]

It seemed the production team had already coordinated things beforehand, because a staff member walked up carrying something and handed it to Wooju.

An acoustic guitar.

“!”

“!!”

Wooju slung the guitar over his shoulder and lightly strummed the strings.

Even the soft, nostalgic sound alone made the audience visibly brighten.

Then Sunflower Mask — Seo Ri Hyuk — slowly walked back onto the stage.

[Some of you may know this already, and some of you may not.]

Wooju played the guitar like a wandering bard.

[But together with Seo Ri Hyuk, who is not present here today....]

Sunflower Mask radiated the distinct aura of someone swearing internally, making the audience burst into laughter.

Wooju wore an innocent expression.

[Why are you reacting like that? Is Ri Hyuk here right now?]

“No~!”

“He’s not here~!”

[Exactly. Ri Hyuk is not here, everyone. Only Sun Wooju and the alter ego known as King Sun Wooju exist in this place.]

[...]

[Isn’t that right, my alter ego?]

[Yes....]

After teasing him shamelessly, Wooju soon smiled softly and resumed strumming the guitar.

[Anyway, back in 2014, Seo Ri Hyuk and I worked together on a song. For some reason, I felt like today was the perfect day to sing it. It was the first duet song we ever sang together. It’s also currently part of our concert setlist....]

The beautiful young man with eyes shining like stars introduced the song.

[Do any of you have memories like this? Visiting your grandmother’s house as a child and lying across her lap?]

The audience nodded.

[This song began from memories like that. Lying on your grandmother’s lap while watching the stars overhead, listening to the sound of insects and the beautiful crashing waves rushing in through your ears.]

Before they realized it, the audience was already recalling their own memories or imagining the scene in their minds.

The atmosphere felt emotional, like a late-night radio broadcast.

The sweet voice greeted the audience.

[Yes. I hope tonight becomes a truly beautiful night for all of you, and with that, I think I’ll say goodbye here. I had an incredible time today!]

Cheers poured out toward Wooju as he waved lightly in greeting with a pose exactly like his father’s.

Then Wooju flashed a grin toward Sunflower Mask.

‘You know, right?’

‘Of course I do.’

That sort of look passed between them.

King Sun Wooju quietly lifted his microphone, while Wooju standing before the standing mic slowly opened his mouth.

Ooooo—

A soft humming sound.

Even though it was nothing more than light harmonies over acoustic guitar accompaniment, the audience felt their ears melting instantly.

Wooju grinned and brought his lips closer to the standing mic.

[The title of this song is Night Sea.]

And with that, the gentle humming began again.

Before the audience’s eyes, the night sea slowly unfolded.